Sudden home repairs are less than fun and usually take a chunk out of your budget. Having your sewer line break is an expensive situation to remedy and can cause a huge disruption in your life. Handling this yourself or hiring someone to fix it for you starts with determining if that is indeed the issue. Here are a few steps to remedying a cracked pipe outside your home.
Determine If There Is a Pipe Break
There are many methods to figure out if your sewer pipe is broken and what may have caused it. This is important to know so that whoever is repairing deflected pipes can begin the work, whether it is you or a contractor. One sign to observe is one you can smell. If you sense a bad odor coming from your yard, you may want to investigate further. A saturated, swampy ground is another indicator to search for. This means that fluid had already escaped and soaked the soil around it. If you see water damage on your walls, the ceiling of your basement, or on your flooring, you may want to call a plumber quickly or step outside to investigate.
Find Out Where the Broken Pipe Is
Once you believe that your sewer line has broken, you need to determine where it occurred and how you can repair it. Snake a camera into the closest opening and maneuver it through the pipe. Once you find it, decide how it happened and what must be done to fix it. Tree roots or debris will need to be removed before you can do any patching. This means that you will have to dig up the area and take it out. If the cold weather or corrosion cracked it, you may be able to patch it remotely by using a trenchless system.